Install WordPress with Docker Compose

Step 1: Install the Docker dependencies

sudo apt install -y apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common

Step 2: Add the Docker GPG key

curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg

Step 3: Add the Docker repository

echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

Step 4: Install Docker Engine

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-compose-plugin

Step 5: Check Docker

sudo docker --version
sudo systemctl status docker

Step 6: Check Docker Compose

The docker-compose-plugin package gives you docker compose (with a space).

docker compose version

If you prefer the old standalone tool, install docker-compose with apt instead and use docker-compose in the commands below.

Step 7: Create a project folder

mkdir wordpress-docker && cd wordpress-docker

Step 8: Create the compose file

nano docker-compose.yml

Paste this and change the passwords:

services:
  db:
    image: mysql:8.0
    restart: always
    environment:
      MYSQL_DATABASE: wordpress
      MYSQL_USER: wpuser
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: StrongUserPassword
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: StrongRootPassword
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/mysql

  wordpress:
    image: wordpress:latest
    restart: always
    depends_on:
      - db
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    environment:
      WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db:3306
      WORDPRESS_DB_USER: wpuser
      WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: StrongUserPassword
      WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: wordpress
    volumes:
      - wp_data:/var/www/html

volumes:
  db_data:
  wp_data:

Step 9: Start the services

sudo docker compose up -d

Check them:

sudo docker compose ps

Step 10: Open WordPress

Go to http://your-server-ip:8080 and follow the WordPress installer.

Manage the stack

• Stop: sudo docker compose down
• Logs: sudo docker compose logs -f
• The data stays in the Docker volumes, so it survives restarts.

Quick recap

• Install Docker with the Compose plugin.
• Write docker-compose.yml for MySQL and WordPress.
• Run docker compose up -d and open port 8080.